The document describes two 3D printed designs that aid wire assembly processes: 1. The Applicator Guide snaps onto a crimping applicator to guide wires into terminals for crimping. It increases precision while being inexpensive and reliable. 2. The WAGO Mount holds WAGO terminals securely for connecting stranded wire. It had to fit the terminal securely while allowing easy removal. Various angled designs were produced to suit different operator preferences.

1. The Applicator Guide
One design principle I’ve taken to heart is simplicity is king. This little one-piece, 3D-
Printed widget that snaps easily onto a crimping applicator (shown above) has saved
the employees at Assembly Engineering valuable operating time and frustration over
correcting errors.
T h e g u i d e i n c r e a s e s
crimping accuracy and
makes it easy to get it right
the first time, a painless,
inexpensive, and absolutely
reliable way to improve this
critical wire-processing
operation.
When handling small-
gauge stranded wire,
precision is key. This small
process aid was both fun to
d e s i g n , a n d h i g h l y
rewarding in practice.

2. When I was creating the applicator guide, my chief concern was achieving a proper slope
and shape on the wire-contacting surface. After all, the goal of this product was to increase
precision and accuracy. I set an image of the applicator to the background of the modeling
software, scaled it to size then shaped the surface to match the terminal’s opening.
When in operation, a press drops down in very tight proximity and crimps the terminal onto
the inserted wire. The guide could not interfere with this action, and thus a challenge was to
get close enough to successfully guide the wire into the terminal, but not too close as to have
the guide crushed by the press and the wire bent on the guide.
My other favorite component to this design is the way it effortlessly connects to the terminal
applicator. When I was looking at the naked applicator, I noticed three holes with nothing
attached. Bingo, there’s my anchor. Using a clearance fit, I brought the diameter of the peg
extensions on the base of the guide to match that of the inner diameter of the holes in the
applicator. Nice and snug while in operation, yet easy to remove and swap out the guide for
different wire gauges.

4. The WAGO Mount
This is another simple, one-piece 3D-Printed design that improves the wire-assembly
process of connecting stranded wire to the pictured WAGO terminal.
The terminal snaps into the top face, as pictured, and the operator lifts the orange tabs
and inserts the wires before snapping the tabs closed, securing the wire and enabling
the connection.
The main challenge with this design was the fit between the terminal and the mount. It
had to be easily added and removed while providing the stability needed to handle
the force of opening and closing the tabs, which tend to be tricky.
A secondary challenge was the tilt / angle of the face of the terminal to the assembly
operator. The optimal angle changed depending on operator preferences, and I
ended up designing and producing several variations that are happily in use today.